Patriarch of car dealership dies

William "Bill" Chase, longtime owner and principal of Stockton's Chase Chevrolet, died Friday at his Lodi home surrounded by family members following a lengthy illness at the age of 90.

Reed Fujii

William "Bill" Chase, longtime owner and principal of Stockton's Chase Chevrolet, died Friday at his Lodi home surrounded by family members following a lengthy illness at the age of 90.

His father, King Merrill Chase, acquired the Stockton Chevrolet franchise in 1944 after serving as Chevrolet's Western sales manager, and the younger Chase, who had attended the Maine Maritime Academy and was a member of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, joined him a few years later.

Bill Chase headed the operation of Chase Chevrolet for many years as general manager and vice president, and then as president following his father's death in 1974.

He was also active in community affairs, supporting worthy causes, helping raise funds for University of the Pacific, supporting the Children's Home Auxiliary, serving as a former board chairman of the Credit Bureau of Stockton and helping found the local Better Business Bureau.

Douglass Wilhoit, chief executive of the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, said Monday he had known Chase all his life.

"Bill Chase and the Chase family is an example of that generation in leading the community, staying in the community and contributing to the community over the long term," he said. "That generation was the greatest generation; they were all about community and family."

Chase Chevrolet, now on Holman Road in north Stockton, was the last major car dealership in downtown Stockton, where it operated a number of separate facilities. Its service department and body repair operations occupied land that now serves as Stockton Ballpark and a city parking structure on Fremont Street.

Chase retired from the business in 1989. The dealership is currently led by his son, John Chase.

William Chase was born Nov. 9, 1923, in Oklahoma City.

He attended a number of schools, as his father's job with Chevrolet moved the family to different parts of the country, including Oklahoma City; Amarillo, Texas; Dallas; Piedmont; and Greenwich, Conn.; before graduating from Gross Pointe, Mich., High School in 1942.

Chase briefly attended the University of Michigan before entering the Marine Maritime Academy to help fill the war's need for merchant sailors. After graduation in September 1944, he served on troop and troop/cargo ships, mostly in the Pacific.

After the war, he returned to Stockton and attended University of the Pacific for two years before joining the Chevrolet dealership in 1947. He also attended what was informally known as the "General Motors Dealer Sons School" in Detroit before becoming a franchise dealer.

One of Chase's classmates at that school, Don Plumer, later introduced him to a former high school classmate, Charlotte Janeiro.

Charlotte and Bill were married in 1954. The couple had two children, John and Marjorie, and later moved to Lodi, where they raised Arabian horses.

Outdoor activities figured large in their lives with RV camping, skiing and sailing all on the agenda.

Chase is survived by his wife, Charlotte of Lodi; son, John W. Chase of Stockton; daughter, Marjorie Chase of Hawaii; and grandchildren, Benjamin and Carter Chase of Danville.

Graveside services are planned for 11 a.m. Thursday at Cherokee Memorial Park on Harney Lane just east of Highway 99 in Lodi.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gifts be made to a charity of the donor's choice.